This year’s host country was the first to voice their concerns on the high prevalence of tobacco use across South-East Asia, and Timor-Leste in particular.

Currently, the region accounts for over one-third of the world’s tobacco use, killing around 1.3 million here every year. Meanwhile, 56 per cent of Timor-Leste’s population are currently tobacco users, according to figures from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey.

Director for the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Environmental Health for WHO, Dr Thaksaphon Thamarangsi, says without Timor-Leste, it’s unlikely tobacco consumption would have been adequately addressed.

“Because of [Timor-Leste] tobacco control has become the agenda here,” he said.

“This is the right time to have something very strong to control to control this most dangerous commodity (sic).”

Another issue that has been on the region’s agenda for years is the elimination and control of malaria, as nearly 3.2 billion people continue to live in areas with risk of infection, according to WHO.

In May the World Health Assembly adopted the Malaria Global Technical Strategy 2016-2030, which aims to reduce malaria deaths and disease by at least 90 per cent. But the task of tackling a variety of malaria strains means that the region’s overall strategy needs to be broadened.

WHO’s Regional Director, Dr Poonam Khetrapal says the region now requires more targeted interventions for the P. vivax malaria, which is increasingly contributing to the disease’s global burden.

“[P. vivax] is proving to be an extremely difficult parasite as it does not readily respond to the existing control measures and has the ability to remain hidden and beyond the reach of the currently available diagnostic tools and medication.”

Following the earthquakes in Nepal earlier this year and the spread of MERS Coronavirus, strengthening response to emergencies and outbreaks also became a key area of discussion this year.

Throughout last week the Committee saw a demonstration of a Medical Camp Kit (MCK) that was used across Nepal this year, allowing for the adequate care of injured and displaced Nepalese.

The solar powered kit contains everything needed in an emergency, including a staff room, consultation tent, a male and female ward, maternity tent and sanitation facilities, as well as a new water filtration system.

“[The Kit] allows for some patients to be stabilised before you refer them, or to treat them for a few days because some of these patients travel from far away places to get there,” said Roderico Ofrin, the director of the Department of Health Security & Emergency Response.

“It’s tailor made for Nepal, but it’s something we’d like to package generically because it can be used for other emergencies and it’s easy to reposition and send to a specific affected area.”

Timor-Leste has benefited from hosting last weeks committee meeting, with the country having been gifted the emergency MCK exhibited throughout the week, and the ability to interact with neighbouring nations.

“The benefit for us mainly is that we’re learning from other countries and we now know better (sic) about our health achievements,” says Dr Ana Isabel Soares, Timor-Leste’s Vice Minister for Health.

When you think of Timor-Leste a history of poverty and conflict often springs to mind. As one of the world’s newest nations, its tropical shores and increasing population are largely untouched by the outside world, let alone social media.

But after moving to Timor-Leste four years ago, 28-year-old Queenslander Natasha Cleary has spent the last year and a half developing her blog, Humans of Dili.

Inspired by the hugely successful photoblog and best-selling book by Brandon Stanton Humans of New York, Ms Clearyshares the touching stories of people not only from Dili, but districts across Timor-Leste through the blog’s main Facebook page.

“I saw Humans of New York, and I saw Humans of Pakistan, humans of everywhere…and I thought it would be really cool to do Humans of Dili because Timor-Leste is the kind of place where no one really knows a lot about it,” Natasha says.

“I can show the human side of this little country and there are so many interesting humans here.

“Humans of Dili gave me a reason to go up to that person and talk to them.”

Edging nearly 4000 likes on the Facebook photoblog, the page is visited by mostly Timorese but has since attained an international audience after stories were shared in both Tetum and English.

Natasha says the photoblog was initially established as simply a story and photo-sharing platform.

“The only objective of HOD is to share ordinary peoples stories. HOD is not about me, I try to make it about everyone else and remain as anonymous as possible,” she says.

“But after a while I realised it is a good platform for awareness raising, getting alternative voices in the public arena.”

“This year for IDAHOT day (International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia) I linked up with an NGO here and for a week I put photos of the homosexual and transsexual community [on the page] just to break down the stigma.”

Natasha has been balancing her blog with full-time work here in Timor-Leste in an international development agency called ChildFund, and is currently working in anti-violence against children advocacy.

With no actual photography or journalism background, but a degree in international relations and Islamist studies, Natasha says the reaction to the page has been great.

“Generally the response is really good and also engagement with the page, the fans and stuff, their responses are also really positive,” she says. “They’re always giving encouragement to the people [on the page].”

However, she says the photoblog can still come with various difficulties.

“One of the biggest challenges is getting people to tell me their important life stories,” she explains.

“First of all it’s a language issue. I speak Tetum, but I’m not a native speaker, so that’s one barrier.

“I also don’t think Timorese people are really used to like media or journalists or anyone really talking to them about their lives.”

“Sometimes I feel shy to go up to people, especially lately. It’s not easy to put yourself out there,” she admits. “Probably 99 per cent of people say ‘ yeah sure take my photo, great’. Probably one in every ten people [I speak to] leads to a great story.”

After spending the past few years here and deeply engaging with Timor-Leste’s culture and people, Natasha holds enormous optimism for the young country’s future.

“A lot of people think I’m too idealistic and don’t look at the problems, like yes there are a lot of problems, but it could be a lot worse,” she said.

“Look at South Sudan, the youngest country in the world after Timor-Leste. They are in chaos and crisis, but Timor-Leste is going really well and I see this from the people I talk too.”

In regards to the future of her photoblog she admits it will be hard for her to let go when the time comes, but sees an incessant future for it.

“When I’m panning my life and looking for my next job Humans of Dili is a huge factor. It’s my baby, I cant leave it,” she says.

“Other people have approached me in the past being like ‘can I be a part of Humans of Dili, I’ve got a background in photography and journalism?’…Sure! It’s not mine it’s for everyone.”

“I would love to get a Timorese person [involved] so it can be totally sustainable and last forever.”

Natasha has interviewed over 1000 people now, and says the main reoccurring theme shared in people’s stories is peace.

“Every day, on the ground, the people that I talk to, from the youngest people to the oldest people are all saying ‘I want peace, I want my education, I don’t want fighting, I want to develop the nation’.”

The project has also allowed Natasha to form special relationships with a diverse array of people in Timor-Leste.

“When I started taking peoples photos I would start recognising these people,” she explains.

“Before I would have just driven past and not taken a second thought.”

Whether it’s a story of sadness or triumph, a visit to the photoblog will leave you feeling touched, inspired and aware of the special place that is Timor-Leste.